The old film strip
by shaman3
Summary: Superman has to resort to asking Lightning Lad about his questions about Brainy. Taken place somewhere after episode Brain Drain. One shot. Brainy x Superman.


Superman surveyed the scowl itched on Brainiac Five's face as both of them (and the whole Legion) listened to Lightning Lad's orders. To Superman, Lightning Lad's voice seemed so far away. Superman's blue eyes were trained on the glare in Brainiac Five's strange magenta eyes. Brainiac Five caught Superman scrutinizing him and quickly averted his eyes back to the Legion leader. However, Superman noticed, Brainiac Five had sort of a smile on his face. Magenta eyes were not so piercing anymore, and he seemed to glance over Lightning Lad's body, the smile changing from bashful to appreciative and longing. Superman's heart must've skipped a beat, or his eyes must've showed surprise, or _something,_ because the next words he caught were, "Superman, you stay here: I need to show you something."

Superman shook his head out of his daze and tensed when he realized Lightning Lad had declared those words. Lightning Lad had a knowing look on his face that made Superman's stomach turn. Brainiac Five was frowning again, switching his view from Superman to Lightning Lad while the rest of the Legion stood up and departed to their just-assigned patrols. Superman and Brainiac Five both advanced toward their leader in confusion.

"Lightning Lad, I really must refuse," Brainiac Five started. Superman noticed how short Brainiac Five looked standing next to the broad-shouldered Lightning Lad. "We can't have any time to waste when these new criminals--"

"Oh, take a chill pill, Brainy." Lightning Lad said dismissively. "Just go to your post and Superman'll join you there shortly."

Something flashed in Brainiac Five's eyes-- was it anger or disappointment? -- but all he did was cast a fleeting glance at Superman that pulled at Superman's heart, then leave.

Lightning Lad crossed his arms conversationally. "What's up?"

Superman took surprise to the friendly conversation invitation. "Shouldn't I be asking the same to you?"

Lightning Lad shrugged. "You seemed kinda weird today. Tentative or scared, or whatever."

"No," Superman shook his head. "I'm good."

Lightning Lad didn't seem to buy it, and Superman admitted that he himself wouldn't have, either.

"Okay, if you really wanna know--" Superman paused, suddenly cautious and nervous. "Did you and Brainy have something going on? Like, before I came, or something?"

Lightning Lad took surprise to that one. He waited a minute to gather his thoughts, and then relieved Superman. "He's on you, isn't he?"

"What?"

"He _likes_ you." Lightning Lad smirked, leaning forward a bit in that overly-used taunting way. "As in attracted to?"

Superman stuttered, lost for words. "W-well, I wouldn't say 'attracted', but … I guess he _has_ been a bit.…"

"Seductive?" Lightning Lad finished.

Superman swallowed and allowed himself a grimace, not really wanting to admit that the Legion's green-brain-robot could reel in Superman so easily. He was becoming well aware of the awkwardness of the situation.

"Ah, don't worry your little head." Lightning Lad assured, resuming position. "He knows quite a lot of stuff, so why would you think he would miss reading about lust and flirting? If it helps, yeah, Brainy and I were involved in something a little while back."

Lightning Lad checked him over, then shrugged. "Yeah, see: You and I are both broad-shouldered and tall and whatnot. Our bodies are really similar, but our characteristics are _totally_ offbeat: You do things for other people; I just do things when I fell like it. You comb your hair all neat, and I could care less."

"Are you saying …" Superman wondered, "that Brainiac Five doesn't look on the insides of people?"

Lightning Lad gave Superman a look that was supposed to have made Superman feel stupid (it succeeded). "Why do you think he left me?"

"Well, I thought-- maybe you left _him_--"

"No, he left me." Lightning Lad explained. "He figured out I couldn't be controlled and I was stubborn and an asshole."

"If you were so stupid," Superman began to ask, noting how Lightning Lad's eyes darkened, "does that mean he only targeted you because of your body in the first place?"

Lightning Lad blinked. "Hey, I can do my share of being seductive, too, you know." To prove his point more, he gave Superman a little lick at his own lips, and Superman had to admit it that his heart had skipped a beat. "Plus, you haven't seen me in bed yet."

"Yet?" Superman blurted skeptically.

Lightning Lad laughed and assured it was just a joke. "Also you haven't seen Brainy being suggestive _until_ you've slept with him." He looked around to make sure no one was around, then whispered, "He can do this thing with his dick where he makes it bigger or smaller according to your liking."

Superman blushed madly. "Like how his arm can grow?"

Lightning Lad nodded, which only made Superman's heart beat faster. Lightning Lad added a story where one time Brainiac Five made his cock so tall that it touched the ceiling, but Lightning Lad had shrieked in horror, so Brainiac Five had resumed it to its normal size. Superman, horrified, quickly stammered, "Did you pursue him, or did he come to you?"

Lightning Lad had to think about that one. "He _liked_ me first, but I did the major flirting and started all the kisses. I mean, he would back me up for an argument, and schedule us both for patrol-- I'm sure he's done the same for you-- but _I'd_ go to his room at night to sleep with him (just sleeping, no sex. At least, most of the time), and _I'd_ pull him away from the people who even hinted at liking him or getting close to him."

Superman had gathered a lot of information about Brainiac Five, but he still wasn't satisfied. An image of Brainiac Five's calm face came into view. His eyes scanned over Superman's body with longing and appreciation. No, it wasn't Superman's body. It was Lightning Lad's.

"How can you tell," Superman finally asked, his tone broken and confused, "if Brainiac Five actually likes you, or if he's just, you know … flirting?"

Lightning Lad blinked. He sucked in a deep breath, then tilted his head back. "Let's go a few months back, shall we?

"Even before day one of your appearance here in New Metropolis (the future), Brainy had gotten a little obsessed with you. He was overexcited at the idea of bringing you back from the past, and worked his little butt off more than he had ever done before. Whenever I came into his room, he would be grinning like the way you saw him on that day with the Zuunium. When you actually came into headquarters, I tried to warn you off-- _and_ him-- by throwing an arm around him (while taunting you, of course). He just shook my arm away and welcomed you in. I got kinda pissed and started--"

"--telling me how stupid and untalented I was." Superman finished, reminiscing the memory. "But Brainiac Five always stood up for me….But the rest of them did, too. Especially Saturn Girl."

Lightning Lad's eyes darkened. "Saturn Girl's nice to everyone; it didn't mean anything when she was comforting you." He brushed an angry hand through his red locks. "Anyway, I soon realized what wicked awesome powers you had, and decided that Brainy had a reason to like you so much. And when you saved us-- that was just classic. So I had a little talk with him after everyone else had gone to sleep."

"_Nice boyfriend you got there."_

_Brainiac Five didn't even turn around to acknowledge Lightning Lad's presence. He just kept tinkering with his toys. Or weapons, if you must. Lightning Lad waited for a response, trailing his eyes over the perfect curve of Brainiac Five's back while he worked. Oh, how he missed that back and the way it arched to Lightning Lad's touch._

"_He's new here," Brainiac Five started, starting to close his weapons. As he talked, he turned around and walked passed Lighting Lad and almost out the door. "He needs someone who will accept him and not _challenge_ him. He needs someone who knows a lot about him, a big brother of some sort. Someone he can trust. _So you better stay away_."_

_That was it. Lighting Lad wrapped an arm around Brainiac Five's thin waist and pulled him close. Lightning Lad's forehead touched Brainiac Five's, challenging eyes meeting those shocked ones._

"_You think I'm one to steal people?" Lightning Lad asked, mocking innocence._

_Brainiac Five stared at him evenly, swallowing in confusion. "Is this … human sarcasm you are working on me?"_

_Lightning Lad laughed openly. "No," His grip tightened, and Brainiac Five, for some reason, lightly placed his hands on Lightning Lad's waist. "Don't we still have something?"_

"Brainiac Five wanted you, but I wasn't gonna give up that easy." Lightning Lad concluded.

Superman's eyes were wide. Brainiac Five said all that? Looking back at that day, Superman realized for the first time how close Brainiac Five was all the time. At the time, he thought it was only because Superman was new and Brainiac Five was making him feel at home. Now he saw that Brainiac Five had wanted Superman for his own.

"A couple weeks later, you met Alexis." Lightning Lad continued, snapping Superman out of his daze. "You were scheduled for patrol with Brainy for the first time. But you never went on those patrols, because you were hanging out with your girlfriend too much."

"She wasn't my--!"

"You shouldn't have missed your patrols." Lightning Lad cut off, "The first time Brainy set _us_ up for patrols, he couldn't get his hands off me." Lightning Lad licked his lips quickly, "You have _got_ to see his tongue-work. It's … amazing how good he can kiss."

Superman took note of that and listened to what else Lightning Lad had to say.

"Remember when you turned your communicator off when the Scavengers were attacking us?" Lightning Lad said. Superman's heart sank. "Brainiac Five's face was just … so sad and … I got worried. Worried like a best friend, though. I mean, I wasn't attracted to Brainy anymore. You know, I've got Saturn Girl now. But Brainy and I are best friends now, and were before when the whole Alexis deal happened. When his arm got blown up and I helped him inside and I saw you, I couldn't help yelling at you about how _stupid_ you were."

Superman slouched. The Alexis incident was something he wanted to forget completely. He knew how stupid he had been to leave his friends behind for a girl. Brainiac Five had been so edgy that whole time; during the time, he thought it was only Brainiac Five's wish for the team to stay together. But if he looked at it like Brainiac Five liked him, Brainiac Five was … _jealous._

Lightning Lad kept going. "I thought this _Super_man wasn't so great after all, if he'd go after some random rich girl and abandon the Legion so quickly. No, I wasn't happy that Brainy was so disappointed that he came running to me with those almost-tears that I'll never understand. I was _angry_ at our Savior, you, for screwing with us so bad, for screwing Brainiac Five so bad!"

Lightning Lad sighed and muttered, "But, good news for you, when you came back to save us from your girlfriend, Brainy … _you_ couldn't tell, but I knew him well enough to know that he was … really happy. I thought that was a sign of blindness coming from him, but … it was kind-of a thing of _hope_ from him, that you would come back and save us, and … that made me happy again. Of course, I didn't trust you for the next two weeks, but.…"

Superman laughed weakly. Lightning Lad's lips twitched at the strained sound. "Now here's something interesting: A few months after, you cause a jailbreak and Drax comes free."

"No, stop." Superman pleaded, grabbing his head. "I don't want to hear more about my stupidity."

"No, this isn't..." Lightning Lad started, then sighed. Superman noted that he almost looked apologetic, which Superman thought wasn't even possible for Lightning Lad. "Brainy always looks over the security tapes in the early hours of the morning. So on the night that Drax came, I was bored so I watched the tape with him. When it got to the part where Drax invaded the headquarters and beat up Brainiac Five, I just wondered exactly how _strong_ his passion for you was. And no, it wasn't just physical abuse. When Brainy wouldn't tell Drax where the projector was, Drax used that disgusting tongue of his and licked all the way down Brainiac Five's neck and chest and--"

"How'd he get Brainy's suit off?" Superman cut.

Lightning Lad blinked. "Getting his suit off's easy. All you have to do is press a button on his belt buckle. Everyone knows that."

"Oh."

"_Damn, you really care for him, don't you?"_ _Lightning Lad whispered, watching Drax lick up Brainiac Five's cheek._

_Brainiac Five pushed the fast-forward button on his keyboard. "I'd do the same for you."_

_Lightning Lad blinked. Confused, he turned to Brainiac Five. "Now, or before?"_

_Brainiac Five seemed startled by the question. It was an interesting one: Did it matter if the two of them had that special pulling feeling they once had long ago, or would Brainiac Five have saved Lightning Lad the way they were now: friends?_

_Brainiac Five swallowed and resumed the tape starting from Superman kicking Drax into the portal to the phantom prison. " Well, you're a team member and my best friend, so--"_

_He needed to speak no more: Lightning Lad threw his legs around Brainiac Five's waist, wrapping them securely around those thin hips. He grabbed Brainiac Five's cheeks and claimed those tempting lips, mouth pushing insistently against stilled lips. Lightning Lad threw everything aside and just kissed Brainiac Five over again with his lips and his tongue, giving into the impulse he had been hiding for over six months._

_When they broke off to breathe, Brainiac Five panted, "You have Saturn Girl to worry about."_

"_I know, but she doesn't turn me on like how you do." Lightning Lad groaned, bucking his hips forward to emit a great moan from Brainiac Five. Oh, how he had missed that sound. "Now give me those lips."_

"I did NOT need to know that!" Superman almost shouted, shaking his head furiously. "How was that supposed to show me that Brainiac Five was attracted to me?"

"We were doing what now?" Lightning Lad almost simpered at the glare Superman scolded on him. "Kidding! But do you get it now? He wanted you from the start-- even _before_ the start! He wanted you as soon as he read about you, as soon as he stopped loving me. Okay? You need more convincing?"

"No, no, I'm good." Superman started walking to the automatic doors to the hallway. "Thanks for everything."

"Oh, before you go, Superman," Lightning Lad called. Superman turned around, listening closely. "Let him take charge sometimes. He's … the youngest one here (or at least he claims to be) and … well, I'm guessing he's just sick of me bossing him and everyone else around. If you ever wanna cheer him up or reach an awkward point in your relationship, just let him be the boss. Do stuff for him. And …" Lightning Lad averted his eyes for a second, then stared right back at Superman, "don't be stupid like how I was."

Superman nodded. He had never discovered this side of Lightning Lad _or_ Brainiac Five before, and it was most intriguing. He hoped he wouldn't use any of this new information wrongly or spill it to anyone.

When Superman walked through the doors and saw Brainiac Five standing there, Brainiac Five looked completely different. He looked so much older and more experienced. He looked powerful and so much more intellectual, if that was even _possible._ He looked so damn sexy, but so innocent. But he was the same Brainiac Five, right?

Brainiac Five shifted under the scrutiny of Superman. "I don't mean to be nosy, but…?"

Superman knew Brainiac Five had the right to know everything, but … Superman was scared. Superman didn't want to get Lightning Lad in trouble for telling Superman about Lightning Lad's and Brainiac Five's relationship. Of course, Lightning Lad hadn't told him _everything,_ but … it would be Superman's fault.

Instead, Superman said, "We're still up for patrol."

If Brainiac Five had been surprised at the lack of proper response, he did not show it. Brainiac Five nodded and started to walk away, expecting Superman to follow him to their patrol position. Startled, Superman shouted, "Wait--!"

Brainiac Five turned around expectantly, and Superman's eyes were just focused on the way those lips were parted and just begging to be kissed. Distracting himself on purpose, Superman began to talk.

"A relationship with you … sounds really _eventful_ … and, you know, I'm new here, and I don't think I can handle it."

Brainiac Five blinked. It took a while of uncomfortable silence, but finally Brainiac Five said, "I understand. You wish for me to stop loving you."

_What?_

Blue eyes widened. "Love?" Superman thought it was mere attraction. "Is this what you said to Lightning Lad, too?"

Brainiac Five's eyebrows raised. "Lightning Lad never told me to stop."

Before Superman had time to think about what that meant, Brainiac Five smiled, pretending like nothing had even happened. "We still up for patrol?"

Superman sighed inwardly at the confusion of this whole matter after all he had been through with Lightning Lad just now. But for now, he focused his attention on the information Lightning Lad had provided him about Brainiac Five and patrols. "If it involves you and your tongue."

Brainiac Five smirked and licked his lips. Following Brainiac Five to their patrol shift, Superman really wished he had done those patrols earlier instead of running off with Alexis.

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Yeah, it's probably not something you guys were expecting, but if you look really closely, Lightning Lad's always acting like he knows Brainy, or something. Seriously, just watch the episodes again (when it airs, because it seems most of them have disappeared from youtube) and look at Lightning Lad the whole time. He's got something for Brainy. I'm still for Superman and Brainy, though.

Right, and I don't know if it's true about the suit thing. I kinda made it up. (you know, taking Brainy's suit off) Someone else said it's part of Brainy, like you can't take it off, but that's just kinda sad so I changed it.

Hope you guys can relieve yourselves with this fanfic, as well. I've got one more, but it's kinda sucky and Brainy's out of character. It's got more kissing in it, but … I don't know; I'm more into talking than kissing, as you can tell from "Spill". I tried to mix it up in "The old film strip". If you're wondering about the title, it's supposed to refer to Lightning Lad in an odd way. Why's Lightning Lad a film strip? The first person to tell me gets a cookie.


End file.
